Aaron Boone Creating Even More Issues in Yankees Infield With Poor Lineup Decision

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone (17) walks on the field before the game against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone has been under scrutiny from the fanbase for how he utilizes the bullpen, for the ongoing issue at third base with Ryan McMahon, and the platooning of young slugger Ben Rice to start the regular season.

Yankees fans were hoping that Boone would just stick with Rice instead of platooning him with veteran Paul Goldschmidt, avoiding some of the issues he's already running into on the left side of the infield.

However, the Yankees manager continues to overcomplicate things with his lineup decision ahead of Tuesday night’s contest against the Los Angeles Angels. According to Talkin' Yanks, Boone said that Goldschmidt will start against southpaw Reid Detmers, and not Ben Rice.

Goldschmidt started in Monday night’s series opener against the Angels, who had lefty Yusei Kikuchi on the mound. The veteran first baseman went 1-for-2 with a run scored and a strikeout. Goldschmidt was ultimately replaced by Rice, who pinch-hit for third baseman Amed Rosario in the bottom of the fifth inning and took over first in the sixth inning. Rice went 1-for-2 at the plate too, with a run scored and a strikeout. 

Aaron Boone needs to find a solution for Paul Goldschmidt-Ben Rice platoon

The platooning of Rice and Goldschmidt is a multi-layered issue among the fanbase. Some do not have an issue with it, considering that Goldschmidt is hitting .250 with two doubles, a home run, and three RBI. He also has a scorching 1.104 OPS in 16 plate appearances.

But that has left some wondering why Boone doesn’t put Rice in at designated hitter to get more reps against left-handed pitching? Or better yet, why doesn’t he stick Rice at catcher sometimes with Austin Wells struggling at the plate?

To answer the first question, Giancarlo Stanton is the Yankees’ primary DH, but it wouldn’t hurt to get Rice in there, who is hitting .273 vs. left-handed pitching (six games). It was a very small sample size this season, but it's an improvement from where he was last year (.208 vs. LHP in 67 games).

The only way a player can get better is to see more pitching and get those hitting opportunities. Hopefully, Boone will do that for Rice, who has a ton of potential and is slashing .362/.508/.745 to start this season.

As for the other pathway for more potential playing time, which is catcher, Rice has appeared in 37 games at that spot over three seasons. He has yet to play catcher this season. Last season, he made 26 starts (36 games) at catcher and wasn’t terrible defensively.  

Rice had seven wild pitches, five passed balls, and two errors. However, he allowed 18 stolen bases and only caught guys stealing bases three times. Rice’s caught stealing percentage was 14.3, which is lower than the league average of 21.5.

So yes, the Yankees would be a step back defensively by putting Rice at catcher over Wells. But if the offense starts to falter again after Monday's explosion, that could be a necessary sacrifice.

Needless to say, Boone must figure out the best path forward for Rice, who is one of New York’s better hitters to start the year. The Yankees already have a lingering issue at third base, and they don’t need to add another issue with this platoon.